Chapter Text
“I wish it was different just as much as you do. But there is no way around this.”
“Come on! There has to be something!”
“They can’t stay together Stanley! Their parents are gone and you know what will happen if it’s complete.”
"Actually we don't know what will happen. That's kind of the whole point, poindexter."
“Whatever it is we both know it can’t possibly be good. I’ll take the boy to California. I have a friend there who can help me set up. You should stay here with the girl.”
"We should at least name them while they’re here together."
"Hmm I guess you’re right. What about Mabel and-"
Dipper Pines first real impression of Gravity Falls was the air. He had been breathing in recycled bus air for fourteen hours before reaching Oregon and when he finally stepped out onto the dirt he was hit full force by a cool breeze laced with just a hint of pine. His second impression was a lot less pleasant. As the bus pulled away behind him, Dipper found himself alone with the heavy feeling of being watched. After a quick glance into the woods behind him he brushed the feeling off.
Meeting a twin you didn’t know you had for the first twelve years of your life is more than enough to deal with. He didn’t need to add paranoia to his growing list things to be stressed about (a real list he kept by the way, because lists are amazing and helpful with organization dammit). Getting from the bus stop to his destination turned out to be easier than he expected. Someone clearly wanted to get tourists right as they arrived in town because signs had been posted not three feet away from the stop advertising the “world famous” Mystery Shack. After a short walk in the woods the building in question started coming into view. And out of that building stormed a very angry looking man in his pjs.
“Grunkle Stan! Where are you going?!” a voice from inside the shack called out. A girl about Dipper’s age rushed out after the man, her long hair falling out of its braid as she ran.
“To the bus stop! As soon as I see him I’m turning him around, taking twenty dollars for my trouble, and sending him right back where he came from!” the man yelled back as he turned to face the house. “I can’t believe you would do something so sneaky and devious without me, Mabel!”
“Well I couldn’t exactly do it with you, considering the whole ‘I know about your twin brother but I’m not going to say a word to you about him for twelve years’ thing!”
“Mabel? Mabel Pines?” Dipper piped up. Two heads whipped around to stare at him. While they had been arguing Dipper had made his way closer to the shack. Up close all of his doubts vanished. His own eyes stared back at him from not only the girl but from the old man as well. This was his family. He didn’t get much further than that in his thoughts before he was thrown into the dirt by the force of a hug.
“Dipper! You have to be Dipper you look just like me! Oh my gosh you’re really here! Ignore Grunkle Stan. I can’t believe it’s my brother! My twin brother! I have so much to tell you and show you and I have like four sweaters ready for you to try on! And you have to meet Waddles and we’ll go mini golfing and we’ll stay up all night telling each other bad jokes! And then we’ll fight for who gets to be the alpha twin and-“
“Mabel! He isn’t staying here! How did he even find out about us?” Stan interrupted as he walked over to the twins and started pulling Mabel back. Mabel turned to glare at him before offering a hand to Dipper.
“I got one of your stupid mass email advertisements!” Dipper said, taking Mabel’s hand and pulling himself up, “It had a link to the Mystery Shack and said all of this stuff about mystical sights that can’t be explained. Anyway your website had employee pages and I saw Mabel’s. I mean it wasn’t too hard to put two and two together. She looked just like me and her last name was Pines! Plus you,” he pointed to Stan, “look exactly like Uncle Ford.”
“Listen, kid I have no idea what you’re talking about. The shack doesn’t even get internet! How did you convince the poindexter to let you come here anyway? I mean he didn’t even warn me! I had to find out about all of this over my oatmeal! Don’t you kids know it’s rude to interrupt a man’s oatmeal?” Stan said as he moved himself between the two.
“Alright I have no idea what you’re talking about. And Uncle Ford may or may not have been under the impression I was going to, um, a DD&MD tournament. Either way, I’ve been out here for like fifteen minutes and the mosquitos are forming a buffet line, so can I come in?” Dipper asked. Mabel immediately grabbed him from around Stan and started pulling him towards the cabin.
“Of course! I have your bed all set up! You can throw your bag down and we can start on the scrapbook of-“
“Whoa, whoa, whoa there hold up. He isn’t staying. He’s going back right now.”
“No way! I rode a bus sixteen hours to get here! There’s no way I’m going back. She’s my twin and you’ve kept us apart for twelve years!” Dipper spoke up anxiously, twisting the zipper on his hoodie as he did.
“Kid you have no idea what you’re doing. I’m calling Stanford right now and he’s gonna drag you right back.”
“You can’t do this! I have the right to get to know my twin! Don’t you understand at all? You’re a twin!”
“None of that matters! This is-“
“ENOUGH!” Mabel shouted, “Dipper is staying. He’s my brother, Grunkle Stan. If you thought for a second that I was over the fact that you’ve been lying to me my whole life you’re wrong. And if you care about me at all, you’ll let him stay.” Mabel’s eyes grew softer and impossibly larger as she continued, “Stan I don’t want…I don’t want to hate you. But the way things are going I feel like I don’t even know you anymore. If you want to start fixing things between us you need to let him stay.” Her voice stayed level while she spoke but the emotion behind her words came through clear. There would be no defying her in this matter. Dipper glanced over at the girl’s stern face and smiled slightly. He liked his sister already. He was also kind of afraid of her but he was choosing to ignore that for the moment.
Stan held her stare for so long that Dipper started to worry the two had been frozen, but finally he breathed out a heavy sigh.
“I guess…it’s probably too late anyway. He’s already here in the town. The damage is done.” He looked over at Dipper. “Look you can stay for a little while but you’ve got to help out around here. I need new attractions so you better have a good imagination. Stanford thinks he sent you to that nerd game huh? He raised you to be a dork like him didn’t he? Maybe there’s still time we might be able to save you if you stay long enough. And you,” he said pointing at Mabel, “you’re covering Wendy’s shift the next time she bails to go throw water balloons off the roof.”
Mabel immediately relaxed, releasing her shoulders and moving to push stray strands of hair behind her ear. A small smile pulled at her mouth, she took Dipper’s hand, and began moving towards the shack again.
“Listen Dipper, Grunkle Stan is right. Technology can’t be trusted and I’ve been preparing for the war ever since my first T-shirt gun exploded and ruined four of my sweaters,” looking over her should she called back, “Thanks, Stan.” Mabel then continued leading Dipper inside excitedly telling him about her plans for a mini golf course in their room.
Stan looked around the empty yard and sighed.
“I shoulda put on pants before I left the house. There was no way I was winning this argument without pants.”